When it comes to cabinets, a lot hinges on the hinges. Their style and functionality have a huge effect on the overall appearance and performance of your cabinets and doors, maybe as much as the choice of wood or finish. The good news is that a wide range of hinge options are available, so there's an excellent chance there's a hinge out there that's right for your application. But with so many choices, how do you find it?

Probably the best place to start is to figure out what type of cabinets and doors you have because that's typically how hinges are broadly categorized.

1. Determine cabinet type

There are two basic types of cabinets (with corresponding hinges):

Face-frame cabinets incorporate a frame (often made from 1-1/2" to 2" wide solid wood) that is attached to the front edges, or face, of the case. Hinges mount to this face frame. This is the most common style in American cabinets.

Frameless cabinets are essentially a four-sided box, typically made from 3/4" thick stock. Hinges mount to the cabinet interior. Frameless cabinets also are sometimes called Euro-style cabinets.

2. Determine door overlay

This has to do with the position of the door in relation to the cabinet opening. The configurations for frameless and face-frame cabinets are slightly different.

Overlay types for face-frame cabinets

Overlay doors do exactly what the name implies: They cover the cabinet opening completely, overlapping the cabinet case or face frame on all sides.

Inset doors, by contrast, fit entirely within the cabinet opening and sit flush with the cabinet sides or face frames
when in the closed position.

Partial-inset, 3/8" inset or lipped doors overlap the cabinet opening slightly on all sides, but a 3/8" x 3/8" shoulder machined along all edges on the back of the door allows part of the door thickness to sit inside the opening.

Overlay types for frameless cabinets

Full overlay: A full-overlay door covers all or nearly all of the front edge of the cabinet. This overlay type typically is used for doors at the ends of a cabinet.

Half overlay: This overlay type is commonly used in the middle of a run of cabinets where the doors share a single partition wall. This hinge will allow the door to cover half of the partition wall (or approximately 3/8"). Don’t confuse this with 1/2" overlay, which will allow a door to cover up the cabinet or face frame by 1/2".

Inset: As on face-frame cabinets, inset door on frameless cabinets fit within the cabinet opening and sit flush with the front edges of the cabinet.

3. Other things to think about

Decide whether you want to see the hinge

In some applications, the hinges are used to add stylistic detail to cabinetry; in others, visible hinges would detract from the desired effect. There are three basic options:

Concealed hinge: No part of the hinge is visible from the outside of the cabinet when the door is closed. Ideal for modern, minimalist applications in which visible hardware would detract from the design.

Semi-concealed hinge: A hinge that is at least partly visible from the outside of the cabinet when the door is closed. May incorporate details such as a decorative ball tip or finial tip.

Exposed hinge: A hinge that is fully visible on the outside of the cabinet when the doors are closed.

Decide whether you want a traditional hinge or a European hinge

Butt hinge: The quintessential traditional hinge, it’s composed of two pivoting plates whose interlocking fingers form a barrel and are held together by a pin. One plate is attached to the door; the other, to the cabinet. Butt hinges sometimes require a mortise in the door and/or the cabinet to prevent an excessive gap.

Deluxe (adjustable mount) butt hinge: A butt hinge with elongated mounting slots that allow you to adjust doors horizontally and vertically for a perfect fit.

European hinge: A type of concealed hinge especially popular on frameless Euro-style cabinets but also available for face-frame applications. European hinges have a mounting plate that secures to the cabinet and a cup that seats in a (typically 35mm) circular mortise drilled in the back of the door. One popular benefit of Euro-style hinges is that they offer adjustment in two and sometimes three directions, making it easy to fine-tune the alignment of the door. Side adjustment regulates the gaps between doors, cabinets and walls for perfect parallel alignment. Height adjustment aligns doors precisely at top and bottom. Depth adjustment (not always available) lets you bring door faces in line with the vertical front of the cabinet. Another benefit is easy removal of doors for cleaning and refinishing.

Take into account how far will the door need to open

How far or to what angle a hinge will allow a door to open is called degree of opening. Some hinges will let the door open just beyond 90°, but others offering a much greater degree of opening are available. For example, a 270° hinge will allow the door to swing back against the cabinet side. (It bears noting, though, that this type of hinge will work only on a frameless cabinet with full overlay doors).

Decide how you want the hinge to mount to the cabinet and door

Surface-mount hinge: A hinge that does not need a hole or mortise to be drilled in the door or cabinet in order to mount it. It simply mounts to the surface.

Mortised hinge: A hinge that requires the cutting of a mortise or recess in the door or cabinet to fit the hinge leaves for proper mounting.

No-mortise hinge: A style of surface-mounted hinge that screws directly to the cabinet and the door without any mortises or special recesses being cut into the surfaces.

Wraparound: A style of hinge where the leaves are formed to wrap around the edge of the door and/or the cabinet side or face frame. A partial wraparound hinge will wrap around the door and have a plain flat leaf for the cabinet so it can be used on a frameless cabinet. A full back-to-back wraparound hinge will wrap around on both halves of the hinge so it can be used on a face-frame cabinet.

Decide whether you want any special features

Self-closing hinge:This type of hinge pulls the door shut when it is within a few inches of being closed and keeps it closed. Sometimes called snap-closing.

Self-opening systems: This type of hinge comes with a mechanism that propels the door open when activated by a push.

Soft-close hinge: A hinge that incorporates a mechanism that activates when the door is within a few inches of the shut position and brings it gently closed.

Buy Enough Hinges to Support Your Door

Two hinges are enough for many average-size doors. But if you’re working with an especially large or heavy door, you might need more to ensure you get the performance and durability you expect. For Euro-style concealed hinges, use the chart at right to calculate how many hinges you’ll need for a given door height and weight. When in doubt, err on the side of too much support rather than too little.

Help, I need to replace a hinge on a cabinet that is in the corner. Where most hinges are in a straight line when the door is open this one would be in a straight line when the door is closed so it needs to swing in the opposite direction of most hinges. ( if that makes any sense). The cabinet is framless. Can anyone assist?
Thanks

I have the same question: Is there a euro style hinge for face frame overlay style cabinet doors that will allow the door to fully clear the face frame when open, to allow clearance for slide out shelves?

I am putting a 3/4x 18x69 inch door into a face frame opening. It will require a full inset hinge. The distance
in the inside of the face frame is 1/2". Can I use a Blum hinge for this application? If so which one?
Thanks,
Walt

I have a cabinet with a mirror mounted on it. So I can't fit the standard full overlay hinge on the door. It does not have the thickness for the cup of the hinge. So, my question is could I use a hinge for a full inset door mounted in reverse; with the cup end of the hinge mounted on the side and the long part mounted on the door?

I am adding an additional cabinet to my kitchen but can not seem to find the same Blum overlay hinges. The cup piece has '110' and the frame has '1 5/8'. Do you have these? Also, do you have a soft close version of this hinge? Do I need 2 soft close hinges for each door or one plus a regular hinge?
Thank you for your help.
James Losey

The best comprehensive, instructional, simply written, understandable piece of information, I had just about ever read. Thank you so much. With your guide in my hand. I got exactly what I needed for the job I was going to do!
Brilliant!! A Very Happy Bunny

My cabinet doors look just like your face frame Partial-inset, 3/8 overlay pic. Is there a auto self close hinge for this application? "Shown in a face frame application (Choose 49513 or 47967)
Blum® 100° Overlay Clip Top Hinges 3/8" - 5/8" Overlay for Face Frame Applications (Pair)
$11.59" seems like it should've the one I need but the pic looks like it's not an overlay door just an inset

I am refinishing a secretary's desk with the fold down writing table which, when opened ;the support boards extend out of the sides of the desk structure. I need the hinges that lowers the writing platform. these hinges are flat 180 degs. when opened 3-4 inches long. No similar hinges found in your wed site. I also need 2 hinge like mechanisms that drive the support extensions when the writing surface is lowered In Mass. this desk is called a "Governor Winthrop" desk.

My earlier email was wrong measurements. My ottoman lid is oak weighs 15 lbs. 22"x26" and is 1" deep. I need hardware hinges to make sure it doesn't smash fingers. I want to be able to open fully and soft close. Thank you so much for your help!

I am looking for a hinge that can be attached to a secretary with non-flush inset doors. The doors are actually about 1/2" inside the cabinet from the side rails. Would prefer to have the hinges mounted to inner sidewalls of lower cabinet (which are flush with the 2" wide side rails of cabinet.) Would also like possibly to have the right-handed door fold back around the outside of the secretary. I need a way to remove the left-handed door, (or better yet both doors instead of wrapping around the right-handed one) with a lift off hinge, take-apart hinge, or a clip hinge, that is, if any of these are an easy process that could be done on a daily basis. Any hinge suggestions?

Can you recommend a hinge for my project, please. I am retrofitting a 3 door armoire to a media cabinet and need hinges to attach 2 of the doors together (bifold) but they are both very heavy, 60 inches tall 3/4 thick.

Don, it sounds like you need some corner hinges. You can find some at this URL: http://www.rockler.com/search/go?w=corner%20hinge&asug=&sli_uuid=&sli_sid=

Or you can enter "Corner Hinge" in the Rockler website search bar to go to them. If you have further questions please don't hesitate to contact a product specialist at support@rockler.com or you can also use the "Live Chat" tool on this page to get in contact with us.

I have refinished my cabinets but never thought to number my hinges so I could put them back in exactly the right places. Who knew hinges were so complicated? My hinges are the semi-concealed and are the exact same as the ones pictured on your oak cabinets above. Stamped on the back I noticed a 1 and a 2. Does this mean anything? Should the #2 both be on the same side when replacing facing cabinets? It's time to put things back and things could be getting ugly. :(

I have just had a new kitchen fitted with an integrated washing machine quite is near the corner so when the door on the washing machine is opened it bashes into the door of the unit on the other side is there anyway to adjust the hinges on the washing machine - this is also happens on another cupboard which has soft close hinges can either of these be adjusted so that they can be restricted how far they open?

I need a 3/8 inch overlay hinge for a cabinet door. I lost the original hinges because I started this project ten years ago and they are whereabouts unknown now. I have discovered they discontinued this size hinge. What do I use now.

I took out a wall to open up my stairwell. I now have a small space under my stairs that would accommodate a 24" door about 2.5' high. I would like the door to blend with my existing wall that has picture-frame wainscoting, shoe mold and baseboard. I'd like to be able to put baseboard and shoe mold on the door to match the existing baseboard and shoe mold on the wall (to essentially create an invisible door). I can build whatever frame I'd like under the stairs to accommodate the door. What kind of hinge should I get that would give me the ability to open and close the door without having the baseboard and shoe mold run into each other along the edge of the door? Thanks for any suggestions!

What can I hang a shelved library hidden door on , 9 feet high, and 3 feet wide all shelved carrying books, built in Oak, this door will be almost invisible in the length and room of library shelving, I will fit a supporting wheel at floor level to help with the weight.
Your help will be appreciated.

I have a bunch of semi-concealed, double demountable hinges. I need the two(2) router bits to cut the slots for the inside ajustable part of the hinge to slide into the door and the face frame. Any ideas where I could find these router bits ??

I built a triangular shaped raised bed to fit under a metal tripod trellis. The raised bed is an equilateral triangle made out of PVC boards. I used large butt hinges at each of the corners to hold each side together and to prevent planting soil from coming out where the boards meet at the corners. I had no problem installing the hinges in two of the corners but could not get my drill into the last corner because of the 60 degree angle. All the angle adapters I have looked at are right angle adapters and claim to be able to allow drilling in tight spaces. The DeWalt adapter I bought is too large for this small space. Any recommendations for the correct tool to use would be of great help.

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What People are Saying:

I have been using Rockler for years, your products are always the best that can be purchased and your prices are very reasonable. Ann you have always done your best to make me feel as though I was your very best customer. Thank you for great service."